Ambrose Eccles

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Ambrose Eccles

Ambrose Eccles (c. 1736–1809), full name Isaac-Ambrose Eccles, was an Anglo-Irish Shakespearean scholar.[1][2]

Life[edit]

He was the son of Hugh Eccles, of Cronroe, County Wicklow, and his wife Elizabeth Ambrose.[2] He was the grandson of Sir John Eccles. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, and then travelled in France and Italy, but returned home through illness.[1]

Eccles was in London in 1763, and was a guest of James Boswell at the Mitre tavern.[3] He died in 1809, at his seat at Cronroe.[1]

Works[edit]

Eccles was a dramatic critic, and published editions of several of Shakespeare's plays, in which he transposed scenes that appeared to him to be wrongly placed. These plays were Cymbeline, 1793; King Lear, 1793; and Merchant of Venice, 1805. They contained notes and illustrations, with critical and historical essays.[1]

Family[edit]

Eccles married Grace Ball, eldest daughter of Thomas Ball of Urker, County Armagh. They had three sons and three daughters.[4] Among the sons was Major Hugh Eccles, whose daughter Elizabeth Eccles married Henry Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Eccles, Ambrose" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  2. ^ a b Woolrich, A. P. "Eccles, Isaac-Ambrose". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8435. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Boswell, James (1833). The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: Including a Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. George Dearborn. pp. 192 note 1. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. ^ Burke, John; Burke, Bernard (1847). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. H. Colburn. p. 368. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1930). Armorial Families. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Grange Publishing Works. p. 2033.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainStephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Eccles, Ambrose". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.